Martial Arts of Austin

I found this place out of sheer luck. I'm so thankful that I did. My kids LOVE it here. They're learning so many amazing things, including respect and self control. The classes are not huge, so he spends a lot of 1on 1 time with each child, perfecting their techniques and moves. We found our forever dojo. **** UPDATED **** Made the mistake signing my kids up for a year at this place, because that is the only way to make the prices actually doable. **** NOT WORTH MY MONEY OR TIME **** Things were good at first, Charles is VERY friendly to get you in, and get you to sign the year long contract ( Which IS RIDICULOUS ). It was nice that he worked his prices a bit to get it into my budget. He did offer a few times to give my kids private lessons, but I was not interested by the time he asked me. My kids weren't learning anything. A lot of the time there, is spent listening to him talk. I asked at least 3 times for a copy of my contract, but conveniently his printer didn't work, so to this day I haven't received one. He pressured me to let my 15 year old daughter stay for the adult class, I had to take my younger one home to do homework etc. He said one of the other females had been asking to have her there to train with in the adult class, and she had offered to take my daughter home. Well she didn't get home until far after 10PM, I didn't get a call to let me know they were running late. I couldn't get anyone to answer my calls. I was freaking out and about to drive back up there myself when my daughter finally called me. The online schedule shows the class ending HOURS before she got home. I couldn't get him to understand why this would upset me so terribly. He just doesn't understand that my child has no business out that late by herself or with a bunch of adults she doesn't know. I was charged two times in November 2016, less than 13 days apart. I am still unsure whether this means my contract ends in October or November, since he refused to give me a copy of my contract. He told me at least 2 times that if I don't wish to renew my contract, I can just text him 30 days in advance. But when I did that, ( since my children haven't been attending in at least 2-3 months ) he told me that he doesn't handle that. I would have to contact this entirely different company. I sent a certified letter to him, stating that I DEFINITELY would not be renewing my contract. That he better not charge me for any extra months. He was short and rude about it. Funny how people change when they are contracted to receive your money.

I've been a member of the dojo for 10 years now and have loved absolutely every moment of it. I can't speak highly enough about Sensei, Coach Shawn, Coach Cook and Senpai Melinda. Every single one of them is a master of their craft. The cost of tuition here is the lowest I've seen in Austin yet the quality of training is the highest I've seen in the entire state of Texas. We practice Boxing, Kickboxing, Wrestling, Judo, Jiujitsu, Aikijujutsu, Knife/Stick fighting, Self-defense and Yoga. The dojo, as a training facility, is THE best! We have a comfortable snack bar, a large heavily padded workout area, a shower room, plenty of boxing/kickboxing gear, dumbbells, jump ropes...everything. Make no mistake about it, there are tons of schools here in Austin. But I'd strongly recommend doing as I did and look around. You'll find, as I did, that the range of quality is incredibly wide and varied. For me, I wanted to train with a head instructor that had the large amount of combative education that Sensei and Coach Shawn have. There's absolutely NO ONE in Austin (or probably anywhere for that matter) that has their amount of knowledge. Sensei has been teaching for 25 years now (as of this post) and Coach Shawn for nearing 20 years. Whether it's striking, throwing, grappling or weaponry, these 2 rrrrrreally know their stuff. As I said, I've been here for nearing a decade. And I just now feel like I'm scratching the surface with the amount I can learn here. Also, I've read through a zillion reviews of the dojo. And I've noticed that 95% are, like myself, extremely impressed and happy here. But at any school, (ours included), people from other businesses will troll our page seeking to give low ratings when they've never even walked in the doors. We are proud members of an affiliate association that requires extremely high standards. So be extra cautious when you see 1-star reviews. Just a fair warning. It's usually someone upset that they couldn't get a black belt in 2 years...or that the coaches wouldn't let them act out of protocol and not follow etiquette. A number of reasons exist on both sides of the coin. But I'm proud to see many long time students of 2 years to 2 decades and still rolling strong. I, myself, have autism and it has not stopped me one bit. Anyone of any level of ability from beginner to advanced are welcomed by the dojo family. Thank you for reading my review. Hope to meet you soon.